|
|
Written by St. Louis de Montfort
O Eternal and Incarnate Wisdom! O sweetest and most adorable Jesus! True
God and true man, only Son of the Eternal Father, and of Mary, always
Virgin! I adore Thee profoundly in the bosom and splendors of thy Father
during eternity; and I adore Thee also in the virginal bosom of Mary,
Thy most worthy Mother, in the time of Thine Incarnation.
I give Thee thanks for that Thou has annihilated Thyself, taking the
form of a slave in order to rescue me from the cruel slavery of the
devil. I praise and glorify Thee for that Thou has been pleased to
submit Thyself to Mary, Thy holy Mother, in all things, in order to make
me Thy faithful slave through her. But alas! Ungrateful and faithless as
I have been, I have not kept the promises which I made so solemnly to
Thee in my Baptism. I have not fulfilled my obligations; I do not
deserve to be called Thy child, nor yet Thy slave; and as there is
nothing in me which does not merit Thine anger and Thy repulse, I dare
not come by myself before Thy most holy and august majesty. It is on
this account that I have recourse to the intercession of Thy most holy
Mother, whom Thou has given me for a mediatrix with Thee. It is through
her that I hope to obtain of Thee contrition, the pardon of my sins, and
the acquisition and preservation of wisdom.
Hail then, O Immaculate Mary, living tabernacle of the Divinity, where
the Eternal Wisdom willed to be hidden and to be adored by angels and by
men! Hail, O Queen of Heaven and earth, to whose empire everything is
subject which is under God. Hail, O sure refuge of sinners, whose mercy
fails no one. Hear the desires which I have of the Divine Wisdom; and
for that end receive the vows and offerings which in my lowliness I
present to thee. I, (your name), a faithless sinner, renew and ratify
today in thy hands the vows of my Baptism; I renounce forever Satan, his
pomps and works; and I give myself entirely to Jesus Christ, the
Incarnate Wisdom, to carry my cross after him all the days of my life,
and to be more faithful to Him than I have ever been before.
In the presence of all the heavenly court, I choose thee this day for my
Mother and mistress. I deliver and consecrate to thee, as thy slave, my
body and soul, my goods, both interior and exterior, and even the value
of all my good actions, past, present and future; leaving to thee the
entire and full right of disposing of me, and all that belongs to me,
without exception, according to thy good pleasure, for the greater glory
of God in time and in eternity.
Receive, O benignant Virgin, this little offering of my slavery, in
honor of, and in union with, that subjection which the Eternal Wisdom
deigned to have to thy maternity, in homage to the power which both of
you have over this poor sinner, and in thanksgiving for the privileges
with which the Holy Trinity has favored thee. I declare that I wish
henceforth, as thy true slave, to seal thy honor and to obey thee in all
things.
O admirable Mother, present me to thy dear Son as His eternal slave, so
that as He has redeemed my by thee, by thee He may receive me! O Mother
of mercy, grant me the grace to obtain the true Wisdom of God; and for
that end receive among those whom thou lovest and teachest, whom thou
leadest, nourishest and protectest as thy children and thy slaves.
O faithful Virgin, make me in all things so perfect a disciple, imitator
and slave of the Incarnate Wisdom, Jesus Christ, thy Son, that I may
attain, by thine intercession and by thine example, to the fullness of
His age on earth and of His glory in Heaven. Amen. |
|